Highlights
No 100 percent proficiency requirement. No Child Left Behind mandated that all students test as proficient by the end of the 2013-14 school year. The federal government waived this provision beginning with Tennessee’s first waiver in 2012. Under Every Student Succeeds, the federal government can no longer set long-term goals for states, including numeric targets like the percentage of students who are proficient.
No federally prescribed accountability system. Under No Child Left Behind, schools and districts either hit or missed their objectives – using this system, the Tennessee Department of Education estimated that 80 percent of schools would be identified as “failing” in 2015. Tennessee’s waiver changed the pass/fail system into a continuum of school district designations, ranging from In Need of Improvement to Exemplary. As under the waiver, Every Student Succeeds gives states the authority to develop their own accountability systems and interventions.
No pressure to adopt Common Core State Standards. No Child Left Behind did not mention specific standards. To receive a No Child Left Behind waiver, however, states had to adopt Common Core State Standards or partner with their institutes of higher education to develop their own standards. While Every Student Succeeds requires states to adopt “challenging” standards, the new law explicitly prohibits the federal Department of Education from pressuring states to use any specific standards.
Goals
Under No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandated that all students test as proficient by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. To reach this goal, states set annual targets for student achievement. Schools and school districts had to meet these goals to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).1
Within the AYP framework, states created Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs). AMOs were set separately in reading and math, and gave the minimum percentage of students who had to test as proficient in that subject. AMOs were the same for all schools and districts statewide, however.2 If the AMO for reading required 50 percent proficiency for English learner students, for example, all schools statewide had to reach that goal, regardless of their demographics.
AYP also included targets for high school graduation rates. Elementary schools had to set goals for another indicator, such as grade-to-grade retention or attendance rates.3
For a school to make AYP, all subgroups had to achieve their AMOs; the school had to test at least 95 percent of all subgroups or it automatically failed AYP.A 4 Failure to make AYP for two years in a row identified a school for improvement.5
Under Tennessee’s Waivers
Beginning in 2012, Tennessee’s waivers eliminated the 100 percent proficiency requirement.6 In place of absolute proficiency, Tennessee’s 2015 AMOs planned to decrease the number of students testing below proficient by 6.25 percent each year. This adds up to a 50 percent overall decrease in eight years.7 The waiver also allowed schools to factor student growth, in addition to test scores, into measurements of school progress.8
Tennessee’s waivers set several overall goals for the 2014-2015 school year:
- increase 3rd grade reading proficiency to 60 percent (up from 42 percent in 2009-10);
- increase 7th grade math proficiency to 51 percent (up from 29 percent in 2009-10);
- increase graduation rates to 90 percent (up from 82 percent in 2009-10); and
- increase postsecondary enrollment at Tennessee public and private colleges and universities to 51 percent (up from 46 percent in 2009-10).9
In school year 2014-15, 48.4 percent of 3rd grade students tested as proficient or higher in reading. Math scores improved more significantly: 51.4 percent of 7th grade students tested as proficient or higher in math. 10 Additionally, overall graduation rates increased to 87.8 percent.11
Postsecondary enrollment statistics are not yet available for school year 2014-15. In school year 2013-14, however, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission reported a statewide college going rate of 58 percent.12 While these numbers include all students enrolled in higher education – including out-of-state students, who were not counted in the waiver’s goals – the overall college going rate has increased since 2009. 13
Under Every Student Succeeds
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) repeals the 100 percent proficiency requirement in law. 14 Under ESSA, the federal government cannot set intermediate or long-term goals for states; the U.S. Department of Education cannot set specific number targets for proficiency, or dictate the length of time to make appropriate progress.15
In place of a federal mandate, states must set “ambitious” long-term goals, along with intermediate benchmarks. At minimum, these goals must include increasing proficiency for all students and subgroups based on the state’s standards, improving high school graduation rates, and increasing English language proficiency. 16
ESSA Indicators:
How Schools Are Graded
1. Student proficiency, based on test scores. States may also include student growth.
2. Progress toward English language proficiency.
3. Graduation rates for high schools. Another indicator for elementary and middle schools, such as grade-to-grade retention or attendance.
4. At least one additional indicator, such as:
1. educator engagement;
2. advanced coursework availability and completion;
3. postsecondary readiness; or
4. school climate.
The first three academic indicators must carry “substantial weight,” so that together, they carry “much greater weight” than any additional indicators.
Source: Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, §§ 1111(c)(4)(B)-(C), 2015.
Achievement vs. Growth
Tennessee’s standards currently have four levels. Two are below proficient: “below basic” and “basic.” The other two, “proficient” and “advanced,” are at or above proficiency.
Under a growth model, Tennessee receives credit in the district accountability system for students who make progress, even if they are still not proficient. For example, students who improve from “below basic” to “basic” factor positively in the accountability system, even though they have not achieved proficiency.
With an achievement model, the state is only recognized for students who meet or exceed proficiency. Thus, students who progress from “below basic” to “basic” do not count positively in the accountability system, even though their test scores have improved.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 43, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
Accountability System
No Child Left Behind’s accountability system was considered “pass/fail” – schools either hit or missed Adequate Yearly Progress. 17 Schools that did not make AYP for two years running were automatically identified for improvement, and school districts and states had to take federally prescribed corrective actions. 18 Using AYP, the Tennessee Department of Education estimated that 80 percent of Tennessee’s schools would be identified as failing in 2015. 19
In 2011, Tennessee first applied to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from certain provisions of No Child Left Behind. The resulting waiver abolished the Adequate Yearly Progress system, and the state developed its own accountability system. To receive the waiver, Tennessee agreed to identify and address its lowest-performing schools (priority schools) and schools with the largest achievement gaps (focus schools). These schools are identified based on relative accountability: school performance is ranked in comparison to other schools. 20 The federal government required all states receiving a waiver to intervene in priority and focus schools. 21
In replacing Adequate Yearly Progress, Tennessee designed a new system measuring absolute accountability. All school districts are measured against the same goals. 22 Rather than a pass/fail structure, Tennessee’s 2015 waiver system has a range of district classifications. Two designations – In Need of Improvement and Progressing – are below proficiency. Achieving and Exemplary, the other two scores, are proficient or higher. 23
Absolute Accountability
Absolute accountability measures all school districts against the same goals. The system was designed specifically by Tennessee to replace NCLB’s original Adequate Yearly Progress accountability system.
The absolute accountability system grades districts in two areas: increasing overall student proficiency and closing achievement gaps. The system includes four possible district designations:
In Need of Improvement: The district is “not showing even minimal evidence of meaningful student progress.”
Progressing: The district is improving overall, but is not meeting growth targets.
Achieving: On average, the district is meeting growth expectations.
Exemplary: In general, the district is exceeding growth targets.
Under this system, school districts plan to increase the number of students testing as proficient by 6.25 percent each year. Over eight years, this adds up to a 50 percent increase over the starting point.
Relative Accountability
Relative accountability measures each school’s progress relative to other schools. To receive a waiver, the federal government required states to identify and intervene in priority and focus schools.
Priority Schools
Tennessee designates five percent of all schools (not just Title I schools) as priority schools. Priority schools have the lowest test scores of all schools in the state, and may also have low graduation rates.
Focus Schools
Tennessee identifies 10 percent of schools as focus schools. Focus schools have either large achievement gaps between subgroups of students, subgroups with particularly low proficiency rates, or graduation rates less than 60 percent.
Reward Schools
Tennessee identifies two types of reward schools. Five percent of all schools are designated as Achievement-Based Reward Schools; these schools have high overall achievement levels. Additionally, five percent of all schools are identified as Progress-Based Reward Schools for having the highest growth in Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) scores.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 44, 48, 53, 63, 69-71, and 85, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
Every Student Succeeds keeps a similar relative accountability system in place – states must still identify and intervene in the lowest-performing schools, and schools where subgroups of students perform poorly (previously known as “priority” and “focus” schools). 24 ESSA does not reinstate the Adequate Yearly Progress framework, however, or a similar pass/fail system. Instead, as under the waivers, states are given freedom to design their own accountability systems for schools and districts. 25 Under ESSA, states may create or revise accountability systems that will be implemented in school year 2017-18. 26
The Tennessee Department of Education is currently seeking input from educators, stakeholders, parents, and students regarding the state’s accountability system and new state plan under ESSA. In late May of 2016, the department launched a statewide “listening tour” to gather feedback on a variety of topics, including the goals the state will strive toward in upcoming years. 27
Standards
To receive a waiver under No Child Left Behind, states either had to adopt standards in at least reading and math that were “common to a significant number of states” (Common Core State Standards), or choose standards approved by states’ institutes of higher education (e.g., University of Tennessee or Tennessee Board of Regents). 28
Under Every Student Succeeds, the U.S. Department of Education may not “influence, incentivize, or coerce” states into adopting a particular set of standards, including the Common Core State Standards. 29 States must still adopt “challenging” content standards for at least reading, math, and science. The standards must have at least three levels of achievement, and align with credit-bearing class requirements at state colleges and universities. 30
Special Groups
States may adopt alternate achievement standards for students with the “most significant cognitive disabilities.” These standards must keep students on track for postsecondary education. 31 No more than 1 percent of all students in the state may take alternate tests based on alternate achievement standards. 32
Data published for school year 2014-15 reports that 139,232 of Tennessee's 995,892 children enrolled in public schools were identified as students with disabilities, or 14 percent. 33 Based on these estimates, about 7.2 percent of Tennessee's special education students could take ESSA's alternate tests. In school year 2014-15, 7,961 students took at least one alternative assessment. 34
States must also adopt English language proficiency standards based on speaking, listening, reading, and writing.[35] Accountability for English language proficiency has moved from Title III to Title I and is another factor schools and districts are evaluated on under the Title I accountability system.
Tennessee’s Standards
In 2010, Tennessee adopted the Common Core State Standards and planned to fully implement them by the 2013-14 school year.
In 2014, the Governor called for a public review of the Common Core standards by educators, stakeholders, and citizens. Legislation in 2015 created standards review committees and outlined the adoption process for the new and revised standards.
The State Board of Education approved new reading and math standards in April 2016. Updated standards in these two subjects will be implemented in the 2017-18 school year.
Sources: Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 19 and 23, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015); State of Tennessee Newsroom, “Haslam Lays Out Next Steps From Education Summit,” October 22, 2014, https://news.tn.gov/node/13106 (accessed Feb. 25, 2016); Tennessee Public Chapter 423, 2015, http://www.tn.gov/sos/acts/109/pub/pc0423.pdf (accessed Feb. 25, 2016); State Board of Education, “State Board Approves New Tennessee Math and English Language Arts Standards,” April 15, 2016, https://www.tn.gov/sbe/news/39679 (accessed May 27, 2016); State Board of Education, “Math and English Language Arts,” https://www.tn.gov/sbe/article/math-and-english-language-arts (accessed Feb. 17, 2016).
A Even if a subgroup did not achieve its AMOs, the school could still make AYP. To do so, the number of students in the subgroup testing “basic” must have decreased by 10 percent. That subgroup must also have made progress on at least one other academic indicator in the accountability system. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(I).
1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(A) et seq.
2 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(G) et seq.
3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)-(vii).
4 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(I).
5 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6316(b)(1)(A).
6 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 7, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
7 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 43 and 58, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
8 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 43, 46-50, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
9 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 42, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
10 Tennessee Department of Education, 2015 State-Level Accountability Data, https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/data-downloads (accessed Feb. 9, 2016).
11 Tennessee Department of Education, 2015 State Report Card, https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/report-card (accessed Feb. 9, 2016).
12 Emily House, Assistant Executive Director, Policy, Planning, and Research Division, Tennessee Higher Education Commission, e-mail, January 11, 2016.
13 Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book 2014-2015, pp. 12-14, https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/thec/attachments/2014-15_Factbook.pdf (accessed Feb. 9, 2016).
14 Alyson Klein, “ESEA Reauthorization: The Every Student Succeeds Act Explained,” Education Week, November 30, 2015, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/11/esea_reauthorization_the_every.html?qs=esea+reauthorization (accessed Dec. 10, 2015).
15 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(e)(1)(B)(iii), 2015.
16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(c)(4)(A), 2015.
17 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6311(b)(2)(A) et seq.
18 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, USC 20 (2012), § 6316.
19 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 18 and 94, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
20 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 54, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
21 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 71 and 85, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
22 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 54, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
23 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, pp. 44, 48, and 51, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
24 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, §§ 1111(c)(4)(D), 1111(d), 2015.
25 House Education and Workforce Committee, ESEA Conference Report Summary: S. 1117, The Every Student Succeeds Act, http://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/esea_conference_report_summary.pdf (accessed Dec. 8, 2015).
26 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, §§ 1111(c)(4)(C)-(D), 2015.
27 Tennessee Department of Education, “Education Department Launches Statewide Tour to Get Input on ESSA Plan,” May 24, 2016, http://www.tn.gov/education/news/42529 (accessed May 27, 2016).
28 Tennessee Department of Education, Tennessee ESEA Flexibility Request, July 2015, p. 19, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/tnrenewalreq2015.pdf (accessed December 5, 2015).
29 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, §§ 1111(e)(1)(B)(ii), 1111(j)(1), 2015.
30 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(b)(1) et seq., 2015.
31 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(b)(1)(E), 2015.
32 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(b)(2)(D), 2015.
33 Tennessee Department of Education, 2015 State Report Card, https://www.tn.gov/education/topic/report-card (accessed Feb. 9, 2016).
34 Mary Batiwalla, Executive Director, Office of Accountability, Tennessee Department of Education, e-mail, March 14, 2016.
35 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Public Law 114-95, § 1111(b)(1)(F), 2015.